Preserving the Stories and Photos

I have woefully neglected this blog. My Uncle Don passed away in his sleep on Monday, which was a shock to us all.  However, some good has come.  I've reconnected with my family and even kin doing genealogy.  In going through the old pictures, I know I need to get them digitized and saved.  I also want to record the stories in a way that will be fun and preserve them for all.  I know that there must be some fun digital book/scrapbook software and even movie software.  I see getting the names and dates included as I get help in telling my family's story.  I even wonder if we might have a family reunion and tell what we remember about different ones of our kin.  I also would love a way to catalog video and audio clips to add to genealogical records and to use in making other scrapbooks or histories.  I know there is much that we can do and don't want to lose all of this.  I am not sure where to begin in finding software, but want to get busy.  With whom should I begin?

Cherokee Great, great-grandmother

My Uncle Perry has a picture of my great, great-grandmother with her sister in full Cherokee dress (my paternal grandfather's grandmother).  This is the first proof we've had, though we knew there must be a connection. The granddaughter of the sister had a picture and contacted my uncle through church.  They all knew about us, though we didn't know about anyone else.  My grandfather's parents died when he was quite young.

My mom has said that her mother's grandmother was also full-blooded Indian.  I do not know the connection, yet, but hope to discover more.  I have a strong feeling that there are Indian connections on the Gilliland side, too.